jane-eyre

region there were. I experienced a shock of horror, then a
strong thrill of grief, then a desire—a necessity to see her;
and I asked in what room she lay.
‘She is in Miss Temple’s room,’ said the nurse.
‘May I go up and speak to her?’
‘Oh no, child! It is not likely; and now it is time for you
to come in; you’ll catch the fever if you stop out when the
dew is falling.’
The nurse closed the front door; I went in by the side entrance
which led to the schoolroom: I was just in time; it
was nine o’clock, and Miss Miller was calling the pupils to
go to bed.
It might be two hours later, probably near eleven, when
I—not having been able to fall asleep, and deeming, from
the perfect silence of the dormitory, that my companions
were all wrapt in profound repose—rose softly, put on my
frock over my night-dress, and, without shoes, crept from
the apartment, and set off in quest of Miss Temple’s room.
It was quite at the other end of the house; but I knew my
way; and the light of the unclouded summer moon, entering
here and there at passage windows, enabled me to find
it without difficulty. An odour of camphor and burnt vinegar
warned me when I came near the fever room: and I
passed its door quickly, fearful lest the nurse who sat up all
night should hear me. I dreaded being discovered and sent
back; for I MUST see Helen,—I must embrace her before
she died,—I must give her one last kiss, exchange with her
one last word.
Having descended a staircase, traversed a portion of the
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